Turn Back the Shards of Time
by alolha123
Summary: AU/time traveling. Everyone knows who Sven Vollfield is. He's the world's best sweeper, of course. But, who is this kid who's following him? And, the Black Cat? Who is that? After all, there's only one great sweeper, right? No pairings. Mangaverse.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: AU/time traveling. Everyone knows who Sven Vollfield is. He's the world's best sweeper, of course. But, who is this kid who's following him? And, the Black Cat? Who is that? No pairings. Mangaverse.

Things you need to know about this fanfic:

- I am basing this on the manga. (The anime and the manga have drastically different plots.)

- I am using the English spellings of Japanese words. For instance, I'll be using "Echidna" instead of "Eckidonna" and "Janus" instead of "Jenos". Black Cat seems to be based in a universe that seems more English than Japanese, seeing as most of the characters are Caucasian. Japanese suffixes such as _–kun_ and _–chan_ will not be used unless there is no cool-sounding English equivalent for it.

- I have created OCs in here, but they are only for plot purposes and will not be playing a main part in my story. They are my property, and any similarities between them and any licensed characters of any book, movie, anime, manga, etc. are purely of coincidence.

- There will be no pairings in this story. If you want to interpret any part to a specific pairing, that's fine; but as for me, I will try to keep this as general in romance as possible. (Some personalities however, such as Janus's, are flirtatious in nature and will not be changed.)

- I will try to keep the characters in character as much as possible. Let me know if any characters are drastically out of character.

Disclaimer: Black Cat is not mine, and this story is only for entertainment purposes. I am making no money off of this story.

Enjoy!

* * *

Turn Back the Shards of Time

By alolha123

Creed tumbled down the side of the roof of his hideout, too tired to resist gravity. His mind blanked, and he barely felt his body crash into the hard, ceramic roof tiles as he fell towards the dark abyss on the edge of the roof.

As quick as he could and without knowing exactly _why_, Train dashed down the roof and grabbed Creed's hand just as he was about to fall off. Train gasped for breath. He couldn't pull Creed back up - that Blast Railgun had taken everything out of him. All he could do was stay in that position and wait for help to come.

"Why..." Creed croaked hoarsely. "Why are you saving me?"

Train's gaze softened. "You have to live, Creed. Live and regret... Move on."

"I - I can't," Creed said dejectedly, gazing directly into Train's eyes. "I can't..."

"I know you can," Train said. "I know... because I myself did, two years ago... When Saya saved _me_."

Creed didn't reply, but lowered his head. Silence reigned in the atmosphere. Then, Creed lifted his head. "Train... I -"

He was cut off suddenly when the roof beneath them gave a lurch. Both of the men's eyes widened. "Creed... What was that?" Train asked.

"I - I don't know," the blond man replied. "That last attack... it must've done something to the roof."

The roof began to quiver, and soon it began to shake. "But I fired it at your sword!" Train protested desperately. If the roof was going to collapse, they would most certainly fall to their death.

"The roof was specially made!" Creed shouted over the din. "I do all of my experiments inside this building, Train. I had to make sure the roof wouldn't let energy through! That Blast Railgun must have overloaded its resistance!"

"Oh, so you're blaming it on me?" Train shot back dryly. _I've got to get Creed up. I can't take the chance that I'd drop him._ "Here, I'll pull you up! Hold on tightly!"

Slowly, Train pulled Creed up. Hand after hand, the man rose. _Only one more foot or so to go,_ Train thought. "Come on! Grab my hand!" He held out his other hand.

Just as Creed was about to grasp it, the roof's shaking increased rapidly. "I can't do it!" Creed cried out. "I can't grab it! Train! Let me go!"

"No!"

"Let me go!" Creed repeated urgently. "Even if I fall to my death, the nanomachines will rebuild me! If you fall, you will die!"

"But you might hit your head, Creed! I'm not going to take that chance!" Train reached for Creed's other hand. _Almost... Almost there..._

The roof gave another jerk and Train felt himself falling forward. _No!_ His eyes widened along with Creed's. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. _He can't die! He needs to live on! _Gritting his teeth, he swung the hand holding Creed up, onto the rooftop.

Creed crashed onto the roof, and his hands immediately latched onto the roof tiles for dear life. "Train!" He cried out as the dark-haired man lost his balance on the edge.

"_Train_!"

Train gazed back, one last time, before falling off of the roof. He closed his eyes.

_Saya... I'm coming..._

Darkness.

-

"Train..."

_S... Saya?_

"Train..."

_Saya! Saya! I'm here! It's me! Why can't I move my lips?_

"Train, you... aren't supposed to be here yet..."

_What? I'm... not supposed to be here? Please, tell me why!_

"I ca..."

_Saya?_

"Train, Train..."

_Saya! Don't... Don't leave me! Come back!_

"I'm sor..."

_Saya!_

"...rain..."

-

His head hurt. Everything hurt. His limbs ached, his head throbbed, and his throat was dry. Was he dead? He'd died from the fall from the roof, right? He'd met Saya, too, except that she hadn't said much besides his name, and that wouldn't help him discover where he was.

Saya... how he wished he could see her again! She had helped him fire that Blast Railgun, and she had enforced it, too. It didn't matter what the others thought; he knew that she had helped him.

He didn't want to die. Sven and Eve were still fighting Echidna, and though they were probably just fine, Train would've liked to see them again, just to confirm. Just once. If he knew that his friends - and Creed - were okay, then he would be fine.

_Open, eyes, open!_

Train cracked open his eyes. Blackness. It was nighttime, or he was in some closed-off room.

A gentle breeze brushed his brown locks across his forehead. Nighttime.

Coughing, Train licked his lips. They were hot and dry, and blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth, but that was the least of his worries. Was he bleeding internally? Creed had blown him into the tower, and the injuries from that were most certainly serious. He probably would've collapsed, too... but he was the Black Cat, and his luck didn't run out as easily as that.

Besides, he wasn't quite at his ninth life yet.

Slowly, Train pushed himself onto his hands and looked around. It was nighttime, but a full moon allowed him to see around. There was mostly savannah, actually. Countless patches of grass grew on many smooth, rolling hills. He was at the bottom of one of the larger hills.

He felt his holster. His gun was there, and he frowned immediately, taking it out. It was whole again. That was strange. Hadn't it been ripped up by the Blast Railgun? Furthermore, why was it in his holster? Had someone put it there? If that was the case, there was a high possibility that they had taken something from him. Train felt around, but strangely, nothing had been taken. That was weird.

He tapped Hades and listened to the sound. "It's... Orihalcon?" he muttered. That was strange. Not only had the gun been repaired, but also repaired with _Orihalcon_?

Groaning in pain, he slowly turned over and half crawled up the hill. It took almost all of his energy to even get up there, and he collapsed at the top. Now, he could see further, though it did little. The grass spread out in all directions much farther than he had originally thought, but thankfully there was a road not too far away. It looked deserted, but a road would lead to somewhere, so that was the way he had to go.

_Man,_ Train thought to himself. _How on earth did I get from Creed's hideout to the middle of nowhere?_

Pushing himself up, Train rose to his aching feet. Now, he felt worse than ever. Swaying slightly, he began the slow trek to the road. His steps were uneven and slow, but eventually the brown-haired sweeper reached the dirt road.

_So, if I continue on this road in whichever direction, I'll eventually reach somewhere, right?_ He thought. _And, if any cars come this way, I can hitch a ride. Or _steal_ a car, _he thought mischievously as his characteristic cat-like grin came over his face.

Humming a cheery tune, he began the walk on his right. He'd never seen this place before, so the right or left direction didn't really matter much.

As he walked on, Train wondered absently, _How did I get here? Maybe Creed got angry with me and dumped me out in the middle of nowhere. _He chuckled at the thought. _Though, with the way he's obsessed with me, I doubt that would happen. Maybe this is an illusion, _he thought, but then dismissed the idea. _The pain is real,_ he thought wryly. _That can't be an illusion._

He continued to think of his friends and his whereabouts as he walked on, and soon it was daybreak. Barely peeking over the crests of the hills, the sun shone its bright light over the landscape, casting dark shadows behind the hills. It sure is nice in the mornings, Train smiled. What a contrast from Creed's hideout.

The morning was just right, wasn't it? The perfect contrast between the shadows and the light, the artistic blend of green and countless other colors that couldn't be described, the fresh crispness of the air...

Hm. Funny. Since when did the birds beep like a car's horn?

Train turned around quickly to see a car rapidly approaching him. Grinning, he started to wave at it frantically. He could hitchhike a ride to the next city! "Hey!" he called out.

The car came closer and closer, giving no indication that it would stop for him. Train frowned. Such a lack of manners. "Hey!" he called out again. "Are you blind? I'm standing here!"

The car neared closer and closer, and Train readied himself to jump out of their way at the last second. The headlights blared themselves at him, and he diverted his gaze to something darker. With his sharp vision, his eyes could be easily damaged from lights.

Ah! The license plate! Wait, didn't he… _know_ that license plate?

Train froze. He did. That was... That was -

The car beeped loudly before crashing into Train. The sweeper flew back a few feet, and flipped over before skidding to a halt. The car veered off the side of the road before screeching to a stop. Dust trailed behind the car, having been kicked up by the rubber tires.

"Hey!" the man shouted as he kicked the door open, clearly frustrated. "Don't you know better than to stand in the middle of the road?" His dark eye widened as he saw that Train was standing. "Didn't... Didn't I hit you?" he asked confusedly, though more to himself.

Train didn't answer, but stared at him instead. The man, a bit unnerved by the intensity of his golden eyes, took a step backwards. "What?" he asked.

"Sven..." Train murmured dazedly.

-

Sven cocked his head. "Yeah?" he asked. It wasn't uncommon for people to know him. But, why was this man calling him by his first name so familiarly?

"You... You're here, too..." the man trailed off.

"Er..." How was he supposed to respond to that? Say, _'Yeah, I'm here. So what?'_

In the blink of an eye, the man had somehow gotten right in front of his face. "Sven! Are you okay? Did Creed get you, too? Or was it that Echidna woman?" A large, cat-like grin was on his face.

"Er... I'm afraid I don't know anyone named Creed or Echidna... You must have the wrong Sven." Creed? Echidna? Who in their right minds would name their children _those_?

The man gave him a funny look. "Are you okay, Sven? Did you bump your head?" In a flash, the man had taken off Sven's hat and was looking carefully at his head.

Grabbing his hat back, Sven growled, "Don't you know better than to take off the hat of a complete stranger?"

The brown-haired man stopped, and then started laughing. "What?" Sven asked, irritated. This man was getting on his nerves.

"That's a good one, Sven," he chuckled. When he saw Sven's perfectly serious face, he frowned. "That wasn't a joke?" he asked confusedly.

"No," Sven gritted out. It took everything in his power not to just hit the man and leave him behind, but that wouldn't be very _gentlemanly_.

The man stared at him with those golden eyes again, and then he shook his head. "You must have hit your head, Sven. Do you remember anything?" he asked, concerned.

This was getting weirder and weirder by the second. "Who are you?" Sven asked, ignoring his question.

The man recoiled, as if hit. "You don't remember me?" he asked indignantly. "Are you kidding? Train Heartnet! Don't you even remember your partner?"

"My... partner?" Sven asked. He didn't work with anyone. There had been a few propositions, but he had never actually accepted anyone. And if this... Train... had proposed, he would certainly have remembered him.

"You don't even remember your partner?" Train asked incredulously. "Man, Echidna must have done a number on you!"

"I told you, I don't know this 'Echidna' or this 'Creed', so stop asking." Sven gritted out impatiently. He had to be in the next town by noon, and this 'Train' was just delaying him. Was he one of his enemies? He didn't seem like that type of person... Besides, he would've attacked long ago. But who was he?

"What about Eve?" Train asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Eve? Who is Eve?" If he had ever met a woman named Eve, he would have remembered her. A gentleman didn't forget ladies' names, after all.

Train fell silent. "You must really be hurt. I mean, you don't remember me or Eve? That's not the Sven _I_ know."

"Exactly." Sven started walking back to his car. He had no time for this. "I'm not the Sven you know."

-

_I'm not the Sven you know._ Train was absolutely and utterly confused. Why did Sven keep on denying it? It was obvious that he had lost some of his memory in the fight with Echidna. Wouldn't he... _know_ that he had lost memories?

And, to not even know himself or Eve? They were his best friends, for goodness' sake! It was impossible!

And yet, none of this made any sense. Sven didn't know him, and he was driving out in the middle of nowhere without a scratch on him. That didn't make any sense. Even if time had passed while Train had been unconscious, Sven wouldn't have forgotten him or Eve. _So why...?_

_I'm not the Sven you know._ Those words kept echoing in his head. Why did that strike him as strange? He thought it over carefully, using the knowledge he had gotten from his years in Chronos. _Not the Sven... I know? How is that possible? Is it possible that there are more Svens?_

Train mused over the possibility. Not the... Sven... If, theoretically, this was a different Sven... was it possible that this was a twin of Sven who was, coincidentally, named the same? But still, that didn't explain the eye patch or the car. They were too similar. How did this work out?

Another Sven... Another... world? Another universe? Another reality, which ran parallel with his original world, and yet differently? Train's mind raced wildly with the possibility. _Then... I did die when I fell off of Creed's hideout? And somehow, I got to another universe? _

_"Train, you... aren't supposed to be here yet..." _Saya's words. Was it possible that, because he wasn't supposed to die yet, he was given a second chance at life in another world? Was that it?

It all fit.

He had died when he had fallen off of Creed's roof. He had somehow gotten to this alternate universe. And now, he had encountered this Sven, who knew nothing of him. _Then, in this reality, I never met Sven at that small town? _

Train snapped back to the present. He would figure that out later. Meanwhile - he couldn't let Sven drive away!

He ran up to the oh-so-familiar car just as Sven started the engine. "Hey!" he called out over the din.

"What?" Sven asked, clearly annoyed.

"I'm sorry for that last confusion. You were right - I mistook you for another Sven I know. Sorry about that." It was a lie, but Train couldn't just say that he came from another universe, right? "Can... Can you give me a ride to the next town? Wherever you're going?" he asked hopefully.

"No." Sven replied flatly.

"Please? Pretty please?"

"No."

"But... it's such a long walk, and I don't know if I can make it that far." Train sniffed pitifully, and widened his eyes to make them even more cat-like.

Sven seemed immune to his cat-like looks, but his gaze traveled down, to his ripped and bloody clothes, and up, to his bruised face and blood-caked hair. His eye widened as they came upon the trickle of blood dribbling out of Train's mouth and then his bleeding chest. _He finally noticed my state,_ Train thought, relieved. He frowned. "You sure got into a bad fight," he observed.

Train rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah," he laughed. "Sure did."

"What did you do?"

"Uhhh..." What could he say? Saying that it was Creed Diskence was certainly out of the question... "I... forgot. You see, I kind of bumped my head really hard," he motioned to his head, "and I don't remember anything."

Sven frowned as doubt crossed his face, but then the golden-haired man sighed. "Hop in the passenger seat." He jerked a thumb towards his side.

"Thanks!" Train gave the man another of his cat-like smiles before crossing behind the car and getting into the passenger's front seat.

The car rumbled, and it sped up the small incline and onto the road with surprising speed. Train supposed that it was him who was mostly responsible for the other car's lack of speed, seeing that it was almost always him who got them into trouble, but the car had gotten destroyed, anyway, right?

He leaned back. Where were his friends? Where was Creed? Where was that other world? Where was Saya? Would he ever see them again? It hurt, really. He was alone in this world, as much as he knew.

But he couldn't dwell on this; it would only get him down, and as he so often reminded himself, cats had to survive, and thinking about these things would distract him from the present. More importantly, where was the Train Heartnet of this world? He desperately hoped he still wasn't in Chronos. That would make a lot of awkward questions arise.

He had to be extremely careful while dealing with Sven, because there was no doubt that the gentleman would ask him about his past. And if his and this world's Train's pasts contradicted each other, it wouldn't end well for him.

And the last thing he wanted was to anger the Chronos's Black Cat.

-

Some time had passed without talk, and suddenly Train took a deep breath. Sven looked at him inquisitively. "What was that for?" he asked, curious despite his gentlemanly behavior. Train was truly an enigma. Whether he was a good enigma or a bad one, only time would tell. But for now, and judging on first impressions - not that first impressions really counted - he was okay by Sven's book, though he had asked a lot of strange questions at first.

"Hm?" Train's cocked his head at him. "What was what for?"

"The deep breath you just took." This guy was a deep thinker, wasn't he? Sven thought.

"Oh, that." Train frowned. "I was just thinking about how hungry I was. You know, I've been on the side of that road for who knows how long..." his voice trailed off, and Sven took the hint.

"I have some food in the back, if you want," Sven offered casually. "I bought it yesterday; help yourself to it."

Sven thought he had never, ever, ever seen anyone so excited about food.

And about twenty minutes later, Sven promptly decided to never let Train near his food again, once he replenished his _empty_ supply.

-

"Hey, do you have any milk?" Train asked suddenly, his cat-like features lighting up in the prospect of his favorite drink.

"No, I don't drink milk." Sven answered shortly, still steaming over the loss of a _whole_ _week's_ worth of food.

"Awww," Train sighed and sank into his seat.

"How about," Sven said, "you tell me about yourself, in payment for all of that food you just ate? And, tell me about that 'XIII' mark, too."

Train's happy expression disappeared instantly, like a candle snuffed out. A serious face replaced it, and he straightened himself. "Myself..." he trailed off, more to himself. What could he say? He couldn't say that he was the Black Cat, just in case there was another Train Heartnet in this world.

"I..." He would just have to make something up. He took a deep breath. "Well, there's not much to say. I was born in one of the small towns on the edge of the continent, and I learned to fight from my dad and a few other relatives." There, that would take care of his skills. "And a year ago, at the age of twenty-two, I left my home and wandered around after both of my parents died from some sickness." He shrugged. "Not much after that."

Sven said nothing, and Train fervently hoped that he believed it. After a long silence, Sven asked, "And what about the 'XIII' near your neck? How do you explain that?" His voice was cutting.

Train laughed, his serious demeanor vanishing. "That was a couple of friends' joke," he said. "We heard about the Time Guardians, and I got it." Then he stopped suddenly. Time Guardians. There were Time Guardians here, weren't there? It had just slipped out. How would he explain his way out of it if there weren't any Time Guardians?

Seemingly not noticing his panic, Sven nodded. "I'll admit that that number of yours startled me. I thought you were a Time Guardian at first."

So there were Time Guardians! Train grinned in relief. "Yeah, I try to cover it up so that people won't mistake me as one..."

"Why don't you have it removed?" Sven asked.

"Well..." Train shrugged. "My mom always said that it looked really neat and that it suited me." He left it at that. The less information Sven had, the less there would be to trip him up later.

Sven seemed to take that. "I see," he muttered.

"Ah, what is the next town?" Train asked, changing the subject.

"The next town's name is Goat Town. There's this man that I'm after - his name is Parodem Lordens. I'm a sweeper, actually. One of the best," Sven said proudly.

"Oh, really?" Train faked his excitement and hid his snicker. Sven was so proud in this universe. The Sven back home would've never acted so proudly. "That's so cool! So what do you do? Hunt bad guys?"

"Yep, that's what we do. We capture criminals for money. This guy's an A-class, so he's worth 65 million."

"Wow! That's so much!"

"Yep."

"Do you always hunt guys that pay this much? You must be rich!"

"Ah, well..."

"You are! That's so cool!"

"Yeah, well..."

"What will my friends say when I tell them that I met a rich sweeper?"

"..." Sven grinned weakly.

Train hid another snicker. Sven's ego was so fun to feed.

-

"Hey," Train said suddenly, after his barrage of questions was over. "Are you famous?"

"Famous?" Sven echoed. "What makes you think that?"

"Well," Train leaned back, "you didn't seem at all surprised when I called you by your first name, even though we've never met before. By the way," he added, "I know your name from a friend. Said he'd seen you before a couple of time. Not you in person, but heard… sort of…"

Sven glanced at Train from the corner of his eye. He looked like a perfectly normal kid, but his observation skills were something else. "You noticed?" he asked, only half feigning surprise. "Well, yeah. I'm a bit of a legend, actually."

Train's surprise was genuine, Sven noted. He continued. "Yeah, I'm pretty well-known in the world of sweepers… and beyond," he added. "I've been in the sweeper business for three years, but before that I was an IBI agent. I've hunted top criminals from the beginning, but the one that made me famous was Stephen Marconi."

"Huh? Who's that?" Train cocked his head curiously.

"He is – or rather, was – one of the heads of this company that was siphoning off of another company. They were pretty big, too – their company was going international when I caught him."

"Hm," Train sat back.

Sven narrowed his eyes but returned his gaze to the road again. Train didn't seem fazed at all. It was as if he _expected _Sven to have done something like that. Train was an enigma, all right.

He was just about to ask Train about it when Train suddenly burst out, "Hey! Is that Goat Town?" Train gave no indication that he had just heard that Sven had captured a criminal and exposed an international scam.

Putting that aside, though, Sven turned to answer Train's question. "Yeah, that's Goat Town. Er… there's a hotel, over there." He pulled his car next to the curb in front of the hotel. "Strange, the town seems absolutely deserted…" he muttered mostly to himself. "You don't have anything, do you?" he asked Train.

The brunette shook his head. "Just the clothes on my back," he said in a sing-song voice.

"And your gun?" Sven asked with fake casualness.

Train, startled, stared up at him. "You could see it?" he asked, bewildered.

The man nodded shortly.

Train sighed. "Yeah, and a gun." He took it out, and Sven's eye widened. He'd never seen a gun like that before. It was pitch-black, with 'XIII' inscribed on one side in white. It was larger than a regular gun, and he guessed it held about six or so bullets. It was truly a beauty.

"That," Sven breathed, "is not a normal gun." His eye turned on Train, suspicious. "And I suppose your friends bought that gun for you and carved 'XIII' on the barrel?" he asked cuttingly.

"Yep!" Train's expression brightened. "That's it! My pride and joy," he said, rubbing the barrel of the gun affectionately.

Sven didn't say anything, and proceeded to take his suitcase out of the trunk of the car. Outwardly, he showed nothing; inwardly, he was rattled to the core. What type of country kid carried a black gun with the inscription 'XIII' on it around, with the excuse that his _friends_ gave it to him? A custom-made gun was not only tremendously expensive, but that certain type of gun took years and years of practice to wield. It was unbelievable. Impossible. Utterly impossible.

This Train person might be more dangerous than he let on.

"Come on," Sven urged. "Let's go inside."

Train followed him happily, humming some sort of a jig. "Sure!" he agreed.

If Train, this outwardly happy-go-lucky guy, was actually some sort of criminal or high-level sweeper… what could he do to Sven? What did he _want_ with him?

IBI former investigator Sven Vollfied would not rest until he found out.

-

Train awoke to the smell of cooking. It smelled delicious, and his cat-like senses tingled with delight. He yawned and sat up. "Hey, Sven! I didn't know you cooked! What are you cooking?"

The blond man didn't turn around, but replied, "Yeah, I cook as a side hobby. I'm cooking eggs. Thanks to a certain _someone_, we don't have anything but _eggs_ to eat for the next few days."

"Come on!" Train whined. "That was only because I couldn't crack the shell and eat it! And I didn't want to get dirty! Besides, raw eggs are disgusting." He crossed his arms as a pout settled on his face.

Sven paused before saying, "I made fried eggs, so you'd better enjoy them. I tried to wake you up earlier, but you kept sleeping."

Train grinned, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh, I'm a heavy sleeper when I want to be." Then, he cocked his head. "Where are we going today?" he asked.

Sven turned around and crossed his arms. "_I _am going to go obtain information about Parodem. _You _are going to stay here."

"Aww!" Train complained. "Why do I have to stay here? I can fight, too!"

Sven went back to his cooking. "I was originally going to drop you off here, but in a town like this, I don't want to. I found out from the innkeeper that Parodem terrorized the townsfolk into hiding. They rarely even come out anymore." A silence passed, and then Sven suddenly added, "I heard that some of his followers killed the sheriff last week. They cut him to shreds."

The mood instantly soured, and Train's expression became serious. "Then if this Parodem guy is as bad as you say, you're going to need some help."

"I don't need _help_, Train. I work alone."

"This Parodem guy doesn't work alone, does he? Therefore, isn't it logical to also have more than yourself on your side?"

Sven stopped. He hadn't thought of it that way. Still, his pride refused help. "I used to be an IBI agent. I can defeat Parodem by myself."

"And I have no doubt of that. I'm just wondering whether you can defeat _Parodem and all of his lackeys_ by yourself." Train leaned back. "But, if you want to go waltz into an abandoned factory all by yourself, that's fine with me."

"What?" Had he _heard_ right? An _abandoned_ _factory_? "How do you know about the abandoned factory?" Sven asked suspiciously.

He thought he saw a flash of panic flitter across Train's eyes, but then the brown-haired man shrugged. "That's where criminals usually are, aren't they?" he asked slowly. "You know. The cliché abandoned factory."

"Right," Sven responded flatly. Of course he wouldn't believe that. More proof that Train wasn't actually a country kid. In fact, even if Train had grown up in a city like he himself had, he _still_ wouldn't be normal.

"Oh," Sven added suddenly, remembering something. "Stop calling me 'Sven' so familiarly."

"Hm?" Train cocked his head. "Why not?" A sly grin spread slowly over his face. "Should I call you 'Vollfied-sama' instead?"

Caught off guard, Sven stuttered, "Eh? – Uhh…"

"Or maybe 'Sven-sama?'" Train's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"'Sven… _sama_?!'" Sven choked out.

"Or maybe – "

"No. Just… nevermind."

"… How about Sven-_chan_?"

"No way! … You know what? I like just plain old 'Sven' better, okay? So you can just call me that."

"Okay, _Sven_."

Sven's eye twitched long after he had finished cooking and left the hotel.

-

Three days later, Sven ventured off to the abandoned factory where Parodem Lordens and his gang resided. Train had bugged him about going and taking him along, but Sven had refused. Though, thinking back on it, taking Train probably would've been a good idea; he would have been able to see Train's abilities, finally.

However, his gentlemanly behavior had refused even the slightest possibility of Train getting hit. As confusing as the boy was, during the last four days he had somehow grown used to him, even with that gun as a potential threat. It actually seemed strangely _right_. Before, Sven had always been alone. Now, though, Sven had a talking _machine _next to him.

Holding his hat down with one hand while he strode towards the building through the intense wind and heat, Sven gripped his suitcase tighter. Why did he feel so apprehensive about this? He had fought these types of criminals before – even harder ones. He was Sven Vollfied, for goodness' sake! The famous sweeper known across all three continents! And yet, something didn't feel right. It seemed that something very bad was going to happen…

A chilling voice suddenly spoke into his ear. "If you are a rat or a nice woman… we will give you a warm welcome…"

Sven jumped back fifteen feet in surprise. "Parodem Lordens," he whispered.

"A man," Parodem laughed. "Well, that's no fun."

_Since when did he…_ Sven turned to see a multitude of thugs came out of the shadows. His eyes widened.

"Too bad for you, we heard from the people of Goat Town that a sweeper had been asking around about us for the last few days," one of the lackeys cackled.

"What?" Sven exclaimed, a sickening feeling in his gut. He should have listened to Train.

"Not all of the people are scared of us," Parodem grinned. "They help us out because they want to live. And look what we have here! The _oh-so-famous_ Sven Vollfied."

_This isn't good, _Sven thought. He pressed a small button on one of the many contraptions that he'd made and smoke began pouring out. Quickly, Sven ran to the exit, but before he could get there Parodem had appeared in front of him and knocked him backwards.

"You think you can get away?" Parodem laughed evilly.

_That's what I'd expect from an A-class criminal, _Sven thought as he readied himself to fight. _He wouldn't be tricked easily like that. I can't use the Visionary Eye, because against multiple enemies it is useless. Besides, it drains my energy fast, and I don't think I could last against all of these criminals. _

"I'll give you a glass eye," Parodem cocked his gun.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the doorway. "What do you think you're doing, Parodem?" There, in the doorway, stood Train with his black-ornamented gun cocked and ready to fire.

"Another one?" Parodem laughed. "I'll kill you just like I'm going to kill this guy."

"Not so," Train replied lightly. "I've come…" his golden eyes narrowed, "to bring you a present of bad luck."

While Parodem's attention was on Train, Sven dashed forward and sent him flying with a roundhouse kick. _Thanks, Train, _was his silent appreciation. Opening his briefcase, he pointed the gun at Parodem and shot his shoulder to incapacitate but not kill.

Train ran past Sven and a gunshot rang out. Four lackeys fell down, their shoulders or thighs steaming from a single shot. Sven widened his eyes, alarmed. _Didn't I hear just one gunshot? How is it that four… Train is not normal. That takes years and years of practice. _

With a sudden cry, Parodem lifted himself off of the ground and ran at Sven, who blocked the incoming punch with his briefcase and landed a swift uppercut on Parodem's chin, knocking him out. _Parodem is taken care of. Now, I'll help Train with the rest of the lackeys – _

He turned around.

Every one of the lackeys was down.

Train stood in the midst of them, grinning and holding his steaming gun.

"What was that?" Sven asked, suspicious.

The brunette shrugged. "Just something I learned a while ago," was his vague answer. "Why don't you call the police, Sven?" he suggested.

As Sven made the call, his mind could not but help stay on the subject of Train Heartnet, whose gunning skills – so far – were rivaled by none other.

Besides himself.

-

"Why didn't you kill any of them?" Sven asked Train as they were packing up.

"Hm?" Train cocked his head, confused. "Was I supposed to?"

"No," Sven said hastily. If there was anything he didn't want Train to do, it was that. But he wondered why. "Just…" he trailed off, hoping that Train caught the hint.

A pause. Then, Train said softly, "I'm not very fond of killing."

"That's good," murmured Sven, and the other silently agreed. Sven took a packet out of his pocket and held it out to Train, who gave him a confused look.

"You really deserve this," Sven said.

"But you defeated Parodem," Train pointed out.

Sven shook his head. "I was foolish, and you were right, Train. I should have gone in with some extra help. One man against many isn't brave; it's foolhardy. Besides, if you hadn't taken care of those men, I might not have been able to kill Parodem… For certain, I wouldn't have been able to get out of that factory alive."

Train shrugged. "I don't really want it. You can keep it. I didn't become a sweeper for the money; I just want a way of life that's free so I can enjoy it as much as I can."

Sven's head shot up. "You're a sweeper?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yep." Train placed the last suitcase in the trunk of the car and shut it. "Is that really a surprise?"

"Well… sort of," Sven admitted. "I thought you were some happy-go-lucky kid at first…"

"Kid?" Train asked indignantly, his attitude immediately changing.

"Well – "

"Then you're an old man!"

"What? I'm not an old man! I'm only a couple of years old than you!"

"A few years can mean anything!"

"But – "

"Hey, hey. Can I join you as you do your sweeper things? Another Parodem situation might happen…"

"No, Train. I work alone."

"Come on! If not for repaying me for saving your life!"

"You didn't save my life! I could've done it on my own!"

"Yeah _right_, Mister I-want-to-thank-you-for-coming-in-when-you-did!"

"… Fine, but you'd better not get in the way."

"Oh, I wouldn't _dream_ of it, old man."

-

"What do we do now?" Train asked his new partner as they loaded up Sven's small car with their suitcases and packages. The townspeople of Goat Town had been immensely grateful to them for taking out Parodem, and in the end both of them had ended up getting more 'thank-you' presents than they'd imagined. All of the people were practically singing their praises in the streets.

"I have a couple of 'wanted' posters," Sven replied as he hefted his bag into the trunk and shut it with a _click,_ "but the criminals have most likely already been picked up by other sweepers. The café I got these from was one of the more central cafés in the sweeper net, so it's probable that other sweepers picked these same guys up and brought them in already."

Train nodded as he leaned against the car and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Should we go to another café, then?" he asked.

"Probably," Sven said, but then he grinned. "But we don't have to. I know a café that we can just call in for information."

"Huh? What café?" Train asked, cocking his head inquisitively.

Sven shook his head. "It's a surprise." Then, he walked around the car and climbed into the driver's seat.

"C'mon! You can't just say that and expect me to just let it go!" Train exclaimed as he, too, climbed into the car.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not telling."

"Aww! Sven-chan's such a meanie!"

"Urk! Don't call me that!"

"What, 'Sven-chan' or 'meanie'?"

"Both!"

Their voices faded as they drove off, and the people of Goat Town waved goodbye to them from the edge of the town.

It was the end of a new beginning.

* * *

After browsing the Black Cat fanfiction, I found, much to my dismay, that I could not find any really good general fics out there. So I decided to write my own. Put in a little time traveling, an alternate universe, and there's a totally original story!

I'm not sure about the beginning part, on top of Creed's roof. Is making the roof's resistance falter a good reason for the shaking? I wasn't quite sure of what to put.

Is Train's acceptance of the fact that he'd gone back in time plausible? I was a bit uneasy about the part where he did. I'm not sure if Train's the type of person to just believe something as crazy as that, but any other way would have messed up the plot a bit.

Also, is Sven's acceptance of Train plausible? I don't know if he would be the type of person to just accept someone he barely knows to join him as a sweeper. But I had to make them join up in order for this story to go.

Stephen Marconi. Made a random Italian name up - this is totally random, so just as a disclaimer, this person and any real person who relate to each other... well, it's of coincidence only. (Doesn't sound half-bad to me, actually, for a name I made up. I'm usually very bad at naming things. XD)

The part in the manga where Sven meets Train is at the end of Chapter 175, in a special. Most of the part what I wrote above is canon, but some is original.

Let me know what you think! (I may or may not keep this story on FF.N depending on if people like this or not.) I also _may_ need a beta for this story. If you're interested, PM me, and I'll check your betaing profile.

I have about a quarter of the next chapter written out already. Things will start to become very interesting...


	2. Chapter 2

Wow! I'm sorry, I know it's been too long. Hopefully this chapter is up to the last chapter's standards. I'm not quite sure about it... It's a filler chapter, you know. I think Sven and Train traveled... what, 3 years before they met Eve? Something like that. So this is just a side adventure... I hope it's all in-character and believable. That's probably the hardest stuff for me to do...

I'm using my own dividers, since going down and actually putting in the line dividers from FF.N takes too long... for this long of a chapter.

Thanks to BlackCatTrainHeartnet for betaing this chapter.

Thanks to jean for finding the typo.

* * *

A few hours later, the two were still driving through the dusty expanse of the valley. "Hey, Annette?" Sven spoke into his phone in his right hand while maneuvering the wheel with his left. Unfortunately, as no one answered, the annoying ringing tone replayed. "C'mon, pick up," he muttered under his breath.

Discreetly watching out of the corner of his eye and feigning disinterest, Train silently hoped that Annette was unchanged in this universe. They'd gotten along pretty well back then. Keeping up the act, he asked casually, "Is that the café you're calling?"

"Yeah," Sven replied. "But it seems that no one's answering."

Train frowned. "Does that mean we're stuck like headless chickens until we get more information?"

Sven's lip and forehead twitched simultaneously. "Yes."

"Too bad—"

At that moment, someone picked up at the other end, startling both of them. "This is Café Caith Sith. How may I help you?" asked a rough, harsh woman's voice.

However, Sven seemed to brighten up at that voice. "Hey, Annette. It's Sven."

"Sven?" the voice asked, taking on a somewhat lighter tone. "You finally called, huh? You haven't called in for a while."

"Yeah," Sven said. "Uh, things happened." He took a quick glance at Train, who was fiddling with his gun and humming some sort of upbeat jig.

"_Things?_"

"Yeah…" He paused. "Oh, Annette. I got a partner."

"… _You what?!_"

"A partner. " Sven repeated. "I got a partner." Train stopped fiddling with his Hardess and perked up at the word 'partner.'

"_Sven, you? Partner?_"

"I know, hard to believe, isn't it?"

"_You've never wanted one before._"

"Well, it's not like I did. We just kind of… met…" Sven's voice trailed off.

"_Just kind of met?_" Annette asked sarcastically. "_You turned down dozens and dozens of applications for partnership, and now you've just picked one up?_"

Sven's reply waited for a moment. "He saved my life."

The silence on the other end of the line was deafening.

"Annette?"

"_So this is a debt, then? You're doing this to pay him back?_" the voice suddenly turned sharp.

"Annette," Sven said, glancing at Train, whose face tried to mask that he'd heard it but failed, "he's sitting right next to me. But no, I didn't do it to pay him back. I… think we'd work well together."

Train's head snapped up so suddenly that Sven couldn't but help jump a little.

"… _Well, whatever. It's your decision. So, information?_"

"Yeah. Anything good?" Sven asked, secretly relieved at the subject change.

"_Well, actually, yes. I just got a new batch of information. There's this one criminal who hasn't been taken in yet, as far as I know. Felix Sanzerro. He's a bank robber who's robbed from over thirty different banks by himself. His motto is, "My luck can take out any sweeper trying to catch me." The area he's centered around is Lake Village, but lately it's seems he's been branching out._"

"And the bounty?" Sven asked.

"_Tch, impatient man. 40 million. Think you can take him?_"

Sven grinned. "You bet." Then, covering the speaker with his left hand, he asked Train, "Did you hear that?"

Train nodded and gave a thumbs-up sign.

"Thanks, Annette."

"_Don't mention it. Oh, and drop by anytime you're around. I'd like to meet this new partner of yours._"

"Will do. Thanks." The phone clicked shut.

Turning to Train, Sven told him, "Having a café owner as a friend is pretty useful, you know." Then he paused. "What are you looking at?"

Train's gaze was twitching at staring at the driving wheel. "Did you just… take both of your hands off of the wheel?" he asked nervously.

Before Sven could even respond or get both of his hands back on the wheel, the car suddenly hit a bump and the wheel turned. Lurching back and forth, the car careened off of the road and headed straight for a large rock.

With a startled cry, Sven grasped for the steering wheel—finding that it was suddenly much harder than he could've ever imagined—and finally grabbed onto it, immediately turning the wheel as much as he could, away from the rock. Unfortunately, it veered off to the side and drove straight onto some very, very rocky ground that was oddly in the middle of a valley.

He tried to hold onto his seat _and _his hat at the same time, all the while clenching his cigarette with his teeth, and miraculously managed to do all three. But he ignored that, since _they were heading towards a very large rock, even larger than the one before_—

Sven felt the air knocked out of him as the car crashed into the rock, and saw nothing but stars.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Coughing, Sven swiftly opened the door and stared at the front of the car. It was smoking.

Rubbing his head, Train laughed, "Well, isn't that our luck?"

Sven shook his head ruefully. "You said you give bad luck to our targets. Are you sure your bad luck doesn't sometime backfire onto us?"

"I know it doesn't!" Train responded indignantly.

"Well, this is pretty bad, then. We're practically in the middle of nowhere!"

"Tch. It must be _your_ bad luck."

"_What_?! Now listen here…"

"Oh, lookie. I see a town! And it's not that far away, either! Haha, my good luck is coming into play!"

"_Your _good luck—!"

-

"Hey, Ki. D'you see those two men out there?" A ragged boy asked his companion, an equally ragged boy.

"Yeah. Wonder what they want." He answered.

"Not sure. Do you think they're tourists?"

"Mm. Maybe they brought things with them."

"I'd sure like the taste of sweets again."

"Mm."

-

Sven stiffened as he felt gazes on his back, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, where two small pistols lay. He glanced at Train, but he seemed nonchalant as always—to any other person. To Sven, he could see the smallest tightening of his shoulders and the slightest downturn of Train's lips.

Strangely, although they'd only been together for a few days, he felt like he'd known the other sweeper his whole entire life, or as if he'd met a long-lost friend. Funny how meeting Train could do that.

Suddenly, the stalker struck. A small blur brushed past Sven, and startled beyond action, he could feel a small hand slipping in and out of his back pocket—_He's fast!_ Sven thought, alarmed—and something coming out. He whirled around and clamped a hand on the shoulder of the would-be thief.

And stopped.

It was a kid, whose ragged clothes and wide, terrified but also daring eyes seemed something like out _Charles Dickens._

Sven felt his snarl slip. Darn, his soft side was acting up. "What are you doing, kid?" he asked roughly.

Train, _who had just sat back and watched the whole thing_, punched his shoulder playfully. "Sven, it's just a kid." He said in his easy way, and then turned to the kid and held out his hand. "The wallet, kid," he said.

Grudgingly, the kid pushed the wallet into his hands and turned to leave, but Train also clamped a hand onto his shoulder. "And, where do you think you're going?" he drawled.

The kid's eyes flashed with fear for a split second, but then he stared back at Train bravely. "What are you going to do with me? Kill me?" he spat.

Sven frowned. "We wouldn't do that to a kid," he said, his gentlemanly side kicking in.

"Well, you're doing a pretty good impression of it," the kid said as he brushed off their hands. "Don't _touch_ me—I can keep _myself_ in check," he hissed.

"Bitter little thing, aren't you?" Sven muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, the kid heard him.

"I am _not _short!" the kid all but shouted. Then, his voice lowered to its original tone. "And it's not like I'm bitter without a reason," he said ruefully.

"And what reason might that be?" Train asked casually, though Sven could hear the slight lowering of his voice. _Tch, _he thought. _I think Train must have a hero's complex._

The kid pursed his lips and kept silent.

Sighing, Train leaned back and stretched. "Well," he said—and at that moment, Sven _knew _he was up to something—"I'm hungry, Sven. Hey, kid. Wanna join us for a late lunch?" he asked.

The boy clearly wanted some lunch—and it looked like he hadn't had a decent meal for more than a week—but was also torn at giving in to strangers.

"It's okay," Train motioned. "We'll pay." Then, grinning, he asked, "Do you know any good place to eat?"

The kid's lips twitched, but his stomach growled loudly and made the choice for him and Train.

"C'mon!" Train said energetically, all but dragging the boy down the street. "Where's a good place to eat? _Maaan_, I'm so hungry!"

Sven sighed and was about to follow the two at his own pace, but then suddenly remembered something very important.

Train still had his wallet.

And _that _meant the meal would probably be on _him. _

He gulped, broke into a sprint behind the two, and prayed that he wouldn't be too late to save his money.

-

"I'll have appetizers three, five, and two, meals ten and thirteen, desserts five and six, and oh! Some milk, too!" Train told the waiter with a wide smile. Then turning to the kid, he said, "And anything he wants."

The kid's stomach growled again and he blushed with embarrassment. Then, he said quietly, "Meal eight, please. And ice water."

Train frowned as the waiter left. "That's it?" he asked incredulously. "You can't have _just _one meal. You should eat more. You're a growing kid."

The kid just shook his head.

"What's your name?" Train asked. "Mine's Train Heartnet," he grinned. "And the old man you saw with me was Sven Vollfied."

At the sound of Sven's name, the kid seemed to freeze up; however, he said tersely, "My name is Ki."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

"Not a nickname or anything?"

"No."

"Huh." Train sat back and commented, "That's a short name."

Ki snorted. "Look who's talking," he responded rudely.

"Train is five letters," the brown-haired sweeper said, five fingers extended on his left hand. Then, three of those fingers disappeared. "Ki is two letters. I think I win."

"Whatever," the boy shrugged.

Train crossed his arms. "So," he started. "Where do you live in this town?"

"Town?" Ki asked incredulously. "You could hardly call it that. You can't even see this 'town' on a _map_."

"Does that bother you?" Train asked carefully. He had to tread cautiously around sensitive subjects like this.

"Tch. If I told you, you'd probably side on _their_ side, like everyone who comes to this secret town," Ki muttered under his breath quietly.

"Hm?"

"Nevermind," the boy said, shaking his head and remaining silent.

Train pursed his lips. This would be harder than he imagined. He wasn't always the best person to deal with situations like this. "Do you have any siblings?" he asked, secretly desperate for the boy to say something. _Jackpot_, he thought, as the boy's eyes lit up with affection.

"Yeah, I do," Ki answered as a small smile came to his face. "I have a little brother, Adrian."

"Mm?" Train urged. Though he didn't have any siblings, Saya had always been really close to him, like family, sort of…

"He's a year younger than me," Ki chatted on, completely opposite of his earlier demeanor, "but he's the same height. We look alike, too, and everyone thinks we're twins because we always hang around each other." His eyes softened. "We're each other's best friends."

"That's really nice," Train commented sincerely. It was nice to see a boy who honestly loved his brother.

As Ki continued to tell of his past, his family, and his life, Train sat back. He listened attentively, and nodded occasionally, asking few questions to spur the kid on. This was kind of nice, actually. He'd never really had much of a relationship with kids—as his own childhood had been rather deprived from interaction with others his age—but this was easy, and he supposed that he could just treat the kid like he treated any other person. _This kid seems to have the past and maturity of an adult,_ he thought with a tinge of sadness. It was almost like his own childhood.

Then, when it seemed that Ki had finally run out of things to talk about, he sat back with a slight smile. "Thanks for listening. Not many listen to me talk about these things, except for my brother."

"Aren't that what friends for?" Train asked casually.

Stiffening at the use of 'friends', Ki didn't respond. Seeing how the conversation had somehow taken a downturn, Train then asked, "Do you have a lot of friends?"

"Not really. I know a boy who lives somewhat near me, and we sometimes get together." Then, Ki's expression darkened. "But I don't have any other friends."

Train cocked his head. "Why not?"

The boy shrugged. "Everything changed about two years ago, when _they _came."

"Who came?"

Ki sat up straight and glared at Train. "The _rich _people," he spat acrimoniously.

-

While dashing down the street, Sven had the fleeting sense that someone was watching him. No, more than just some_one_; it was _many_ people, and that made him very uneasy. Although he was a proficient fighter in many ways, against many enemies he couldn't do much. The Visionary Eye wouldn't work against multiple enemies, and this time Train was off with that boy. If he got into a fight here, the situation would not be in favor of him.

Turning left at a small crossroad, Sven tried to avoid this predicament. _I'll dash after this corner and hide, _he thought. _That'll get ride of those people. _Then, he grimaced. _Hopefully. _

As soon as he turned, however, he came face-to-face with a tall, brick wall that looked worn and dusty. Alarmed at being trapped, Sven swirled around with the thoughts, _I'd been tricked! They cornered me! I've got to get out of here! _But as soon as he did turn around, his stalkers had already formed a semi-circle around him and were steadily closing in on him.

They looked like the regular, mobbing gang: scarred, tattooed, and snarling. _They'd most likely been hired, _Sven thought. _These types of gangs only go for money. _In disgust, he thought, _Train will laugh at me for this. Maybe I do have bad luck. _

Stopping, he shook his head. _No! I can't think like that! _He slowly slipped his hand into his pocket. Thankfully, the alley was dark and the gang members wouldn't be able to see him reaching for his pocketed gun.

"Oi," Stupid Gang Member 1 sneered. "So this is the great Sven Vollfied? Hah, he looks punier than I imagined."

"Tch," Stupid Gang Member 2 said. "Don't underestimate him. He's a master of inventions and gunning."

"He looks like the guy who doesn't have much experience in fighting!" Stupid Gang Member 3 observed.

"You think you can get away?" mocked Stupid Gang Member 4.

Sven felt his forehead twitch. Yes, they were all very stupid, for cornering him in a place that was dark so he could take his gun out without them noticing. _And… isn't this familiar? _He thought dryly, his mind going back to Parodem's hideout. _I wish Train was here, _he sighed.

-

"The rich people?" Train echoed, for once in his life stunned beyond words.

Ki nodded furiously, his eyes sparked with anger and fire. "Ever since they came, they've been completely dominating over us original townspeople!"

"Dominating…how?" Sitting back, Train crossed his arms as a serious expression came over his face.

The waitress came and places all of the food down before them—many plates before Train and one place in front of Ki—but now Train paid more attention to Ki rather than the food, a first for him.

The boy scowled. "I don't know," he said sarcastically as he plunged his knife into the pasta, as if to accentuate his anger. "How _else_ would you dominate townspeople? _Gee_, uh, by taking their _money_, forcing them out of the _nice_ _parts_ of town, _abusing_ and basically _bullying_ them!"

A bit taken aback by this venomous statement, Train sifted the information through his mind. Then, after a moment, he asked, "Do you know why they've come to this town, though?"

"Didn't I say the reason earlier?" Ki asked, annoyed. "This is a secret town. You can't even see this place on a _map_. Rich people who've done some bad things hide out here. They all hide, no one suspects, and no one finds them."

Train's eyes widened. "So you're saying that all of the rich people here are high-class criminals?"

Nodding, Ki continued. "No one's come to this town for more than a few months. You're the first visitors in a long time. They're _safe _here, and no one reports them because with the way this town is run, it's like they've got _hostages_."

"Hostages?"

"Yeah." Then the boy's eyes softened. "Everyone before they came was more like a family than a town. Everyone knew everyone, and we were all neighbors." Then, his eyes hardened. "But since obviously not everyone can just up and leave the town most of our families helped _found_, they stay, and the _rich _people take advantage of this."

"Why don't you call the police?"

Snorting, Ki answered, "As if. All of the phones here are in the rich peoples' houses. We don't _have _phones, because we don't _need _them." Pausing, he then muttered, "Or we _didn't_, until now."

Wisely, Train said nothing. This was still so overwhelming—that they'd landed in a town of _criminals_ was almost unbelievable. Though with their luck, it was probably possible. Stopping his lunch, he glanced up. "Hey, I wonder where Sven is. He's not usually this late… especially when his money is in my hands."

Sitting up as if he'd remembered something, Ki's eyes widened. "Your partner's Sven Vollfied, right?"

"Yeah, he is—wait!" Train also jerked up, his face horrified. "The people here are _criminals_, and he's a _famous sweeper_—"

Both stared at each other, wide-eyed, and neither of them spoke.

Suddenly, Train jumped to his feet. "I've got to find him!" he exclaimed, but his expression became puzzled and hard when Ki shook his head sadly.

"It might be too late already."

-

Okay, so maybe they weren't _that _stupid. Considering that somehow they'd cornered him, and someone _else _had jumped down and smothered his nose with some sort of drenched handkerchief which had made him pass out, they weren't that stupid.

Sven hated being outmaneuvered.

"Sven Vollfied, am I correct?" the mysterious voice asked him. He'd been blindfolded some time ago.

"Yes, you are correct," Sven gritted out. They'd asked him this same question no less than five times in the last half hour, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"What is your purpose in this town?"

Sven paused, and then a grin spread on his face. "To get a car mechanic," he answered cheekily.

A pause. "Is that one of your many bounties?"

His lip twitched, and the grin turned stale. "No-o," he answered.

"Oh! Oh! I know!" Another voice spoke up, younger and energetic. "His car broke down and he wanted to get a mechanic!"

Sven was about to respond with 'yes,' but the first voice spoke before him. "Idiot! That can't possibly be the reason! Sven Vollfied would _never _do anything as stupid as wrecking his car!"

"Oh, right…"

"He must be looking for an accomplice of his, who happens to be a car mechanic!"

"Ah, that must be right, H—"

"Don't say my name, Arie!"

"But, but, you just said mine!"

An embarrassed cough. "… It does not matter."

"Uh, okay."

"Arie, find me all the car mechanics that live in this shoddy little town and any one that lives within a hundred kilometers of here!"

"O-kay!"

Sven dearly, dearly wanted to bang his head on a nearby wall. His captors were incredibly stupid.

"And, Vollfied-san… Let us continue with the interrogation."

Darn. And he'd almost gotten the ropes around his wrists loose, too.

-

"I can't _believe _it!" Train seethed. He and Ki had searched all over the town for Sven, and there was no sign whatsoever of his friend. "They can't have just whisked him into thin air! Where could he be?"

The disappearance of any of his friends put him in a bad mood.

"I told you," Ki said, irritated. "They've probably already gotten him."

Train whirled on him. "Sven can't be overcome that easily! He's a famous sweeper, for goodness' sake!"

"I know!" Ki replied hotly, "but that's probably _why _they can take him down so easily! Don't you think his skills would be _known_?"

The sweeper was quiet. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said finally, plopping down into a chair next to a café. "So, what do we do next, genius?" he asked sarcastically.

Ki scowled. "Don't ask me!"

Train stared at him. "You're the one who lives in the ho-dum little town, kiddo—"

"Don't call me short!"

"Wasn't going to. Anyway, point is, I don't live here. So you're _got _to have some idea of where they'd take him!"

"No, I—wait." Ki paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Town hall," he said decisively. "It's the headquarters of the rich people who probably captured Sven."

"… And why didn't you tell me that sooner?"

Slightly embarrassed, the boy muttered, "I don't know… Forgot, I guess."

Shaking his head, Train rose. "Show me where this town hall is, kiddo."

"Don't call me that!"

-

Blankly, Train stared at the massive building that stood defiantly in front of them. "This is it?" he asked his companion, who nodded.

"Town hall," Ki stated.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure."

"… really?"

The boy gritted his teeth. "_Yes_."

"It looks…" Train couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Different from the rest of the town?" Ki suggested dryly.

It was true. The town hall, unlike many of the surrounding dilapidated smaller buildings, stood grandly in the center of a large square. It rose high, at least five stories with countless windows, all of which were lit up. A huge brick wall surrounded the building, but behind a large iron-wrought gate they could see an intimidating force of guards at the front door. On the side, grass—undoubtedly imported, seeing as there was no grass in the near vicinity that was as green and fresh as that—was neatly trimmed into large squares, forming paths to gardens.

Even though he'd viewed the hall many times before, Ki still very much felt the awe that he'd had when the hall had first been built. However, this was almost always followed by a flash of anger—after all, they were practically _emphasizing_ the poverty surrounding them.

Train, though, seemingly had absolutely no qualms about the huge fortress in front of them. He looked pensive, staring at the building with only slight interest, and then sighed. "Well, shouldn't we get a move on?"

"Huh?" Ki snapped into focus. "He-hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to go save Sven!" Train grinned and jerked a thumb at himself.

"But—shouldn't we—_gee_, try to _sneak in_ rather than going through the _front_?" Ki practically screeched.

Train stopped and glanced back in confusion. "Isn't that what front doors are for?"

"Well, yeah, but in this case, it's different—wait, _hey_—!"

The brown-haired sweeper strode calmly and confidently to the front gate and turned to one of the guards, whose expression was subtly twitching, staring at the cat-like and completely unafraid man in front of him and the sulking kid a distance behind him. "Oi, guard… Guard… uh, what's your name?" Train asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Er, Jim—"

"Thanks! Haha, they never put nametags on guards' suits, do they?" the sweeper laughed.

The two guards exchanged glances. Who was this man, and what did he want? No one came to the gate without wanting something. "Your business?" one of the guards asked sternly.

"I want to take a tour!"

"You—_what?_" the guard choked, flabbergasted at the outrageous request. No one had _ever _requested to take a tour, namely because no one wanted to take a tour of a town hall of _nowhere_.

"I want to take a tour!" Train repeated, letting some annoyance seep in. He crossed his arms in a diva look. "Can't you tell who I _am_?" He asked incredulously, as if _everyone_ should know who he was.

"N-no," the guards stuttered. "Sorry, but we have never seen—"

"Unbelievable!" Train exclaimed, feigning surprise. This was fun, he thought with an inaudible chuckle. "I can't—" Turning to Ki, whose eyes were wide and disbelieving, he asked, "Can you believe it? _Me_?"

Ki stared at him.

Turning back to the guards, he said grandly, "I am Alderic de Gaston de Martini Champagne!"

Ki choked. Hard. _Oh._

Train risked a glance back at him. _Get it now? _He winked.

Nodding, the boy bit his lip to keep from laughing and winked back.

_Huh, _Train thought. _I didn't know the kid could even do that!_ "I am _the _most famous actor in the universe and you _imbeciles _cannot even recognize me!" He feigned his extreme displeasure. "How rude!"

Slipping into his role with more ease than he'd expected, Ki then exclaimed, "If you two cannot even recognize such a distinguished figure, you shouldn't even be guards! After all," he added, "What if the Chronos Numbers themselves came to your door? What would you do? Ask them what their _business _was?" he gave out a short laugh.

_Perfect. _By now, the two guards were completely stricken with horror. "P-Please excuse us, Champagne-san—no, Champagne-sama—"

"Be grateful I will let you go this one time," Train said dismissively with a wave of his hand, "because I might not be so forgiving the next time."

The guards bowed low and stepped aside, quivering in awe. "A-as you wish, Champagne-sama." One pushed open the huge iron-wrought gate and held it open for them, and the two walked through.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the guards, Train whispered to Ki with a grin, "Heh! That was easy!"

-

"This way, Train!"

"Huh? But my senses are telling me it's this way!"

"Your senses? This is the way! Not that way! I know this place!"

"My senses have _always _been right!"

"Uh-huh…" Skeptical glare.

Ignore. "So let's go this way!"

"No, that leads—h-hey, wait!"

-

"… Huh? How did we get to the kitchen?"

"I told you! We were supposed to go the _other _way!"

"Oops." Shrug.

"Hurry up! Let's go back—! Hey! What are you _doing_?!"

"Hey, look! They have cookies and milk and cake and—"

"Let's _go!_"

"—soufflé and ice cream and sherbet and—"

"Weren't we going to save your sweeper friend?"

"—truffles and… Oh yeah, Sven…"

"… So, shouldn't we…?"

"… Let's bring him some of this stuff!"

"—tch—!"

-

"Finally!" Train exclaimed after he and Ki burst into the where Sven was held. "Sven!"

He stopped and blinked.

Sven was staring at them from under his hat, looking very dignified as he sat in the only chair in the room, cross-legged and tapping his foot on the ground. He seemed completely unharmed, with no restraints showing. His expression was calm, though after years of working with him Train could see that he was inwardly irked.

Besides all that, there were countless unconscious guards strewn all over the floor at his feet.

Train took one glance at the guards and opened his mouth. "Oi, Sven. What did you do? Why are all the guards unconscious?" The hint of a smile touched his face, though he struggled to retain a perfectly calm face.

"Nothing permanent," Sven answered dismissively, keeping up with the act. "I was getting bored of waiting for you, so I took matters into my own hands." He explained.

Train's lip twitched. Then his eye twitched. A grin grew on his face. Suddenly, he burst out laughing, unable to keep it in. "Hah! Who ever heard of a princess who rescued herself before the rescuers came?" he gasped out after he caught his breath.

A tick mark grew on his partner's forehead. "I'm no _princess_!" he shouted indignantly.

"Sure, sure… Let's just get out of here," grinned Train.

"You know," Sven muttered stiffly, "I'm sure I could have gotten out on my own. It was just that stupid lock…"

"Uh-huh…"

-

"Thank you so much for your help!" the _true_ mayor of the city, Mr. Jones, thanked Train and Sven, shaking each of their hands fervently. "I can't tell you what a great favor you have done myself and these people!"

"It's nothing," said Sven modestly. "We're sweepers. It's our duty to apprehend criminals."

After Train had freed Sven, both of them left to capture the criminals who not only ran the town but also embezzled off of the townspeople's taxes. Clandestine meetings about returning to their former power—for most had been rich bankers, merchants, or businessmen—were held often, and they had been using this town for a sort of headquarters.

Needless to say, after this fiasco leaked out, this town would be put on the map, thought Train.

Frowning as he remembered something, Train added to Mr. Jones's thanks, "But he—" he jerked a thumb at Ki, who stood beside him—"helped out a lot, too. I don't think I could have done it without him…"

Ki flushed with embarrassment, but said nothing to deny it. "Yeah," he muttered quietly.

Grinning, Train then threw his arms behind his head and turned around. "Maaan, I'm hungry! Hey, Ki. I'll treat you again if you take me somewhere!" He quickly head locked the protesting Ki and dragged him off.

Sven stared at them. He _knew _he was forgetting _something_ important, but at the moment, he couldn't figure out what—_Wait a minute…_

"Train Heartnet! _Give me back my wallet_!"

-

After Sven had caught up to his partner, and they had had a quick but full meal, Ki smiled slightly and said quietly, "Thanks for helping the town."

"Nothing to it, kiddo!" Train grinned. "Glad to be of service! We got a meal out of it, too," he added.

"Now, hopefully this place will go back to what it was before…" Ki trailed off and a dreamy look came over his eyes. "Maybe the lake will come back, too…"

"What lake?" asked Train curiously.

"Oh, there was a lake that used to be here ten or twelve years ago—on the west side, so you haven't seen the cracked crater—so I don't remember it. All I have are stories told by the older people in this town, who have been living here for ages." Ki frowned. "But for whatever reason, the lake dried up. I guess that year must not have gotten much rain. Anyway, it's the same case here. We get rain occasionally, but not very often."

Train paused, and then smiled. "Don't worry," he said cheerfully. "I bet it'll rain sometime soon."

"Why's that?" the boy asked skeptically, and Sven glanced at his partner, wanting to know the same.

"It's just a feeling."

Ki stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. "You're weird," he said, but there was no venom behind his words.

-

"I'm glad we found that car mechanic," Train commented to Sven.

"Yeah," Sven agreed. "At first I didn't think we would be able to find one, but it turned out that there was that old man who used to be a car mechanic." He paused. "I just hope he remembered everything from 20, or even 40 years ago."

"Well, the door still works," Train joked as he opened the door and sat into the passenger seat.

"Good thing, too," muttered Sven as he sat into the driver's seat and started up the car. "Looks like it works just fine."

The car's engine rumbled awake and with a violent noise and puff of smoke, the car started off.

There was only one road out of the town, but it was a dirt road and rocks were as plentiful on the road as off the road. The car moved slowly, but Train was slightly glad for that as he glanced back and saw the townspeople and Ki and a younger boy—Ki's brother, Adrian?—waving goodbye.

"Well," Train sat back, "that was a fun adventure."

"That was?" Sven asked, arching his eyebrow at him. "All I did was get captured. Unfortunately, though, our job—you know that Felix Sanzerro guy—has probably already been taken. We should probably call Annette and get a new one…" he mused.

"Right—oh, hey."

"What?"

"It's raining."

"So?"

Train smiled. "Nothing."

His partner stopped, and then suddenly slammed his foot down on the break.

"_Hey!_ What did you do that for?!"

Sven glared at Train. "You owe me my wallet, right?" he gritted out.

"I do? Oh yeah, I do! Uh… let me search for it…" Train searched his pockets. "Um—Oh! Here it is." Train pulled out Sven's old, worn, leather wallet and handed it to him.

Hurriedly, Sven opened it up. His eyes bulged. "Train…"

"What?"

"You—!" Sven thrust his now empty wallet at his partner. "You spent _all of my money!_"

"Oh, yeah. So I did. But it was for a worthy cause, right?"

"Ch—You call your _stomach _a worthy cause?"

"Yeah!"

"Urgh! You—" Unexpectedly, Sven sighed deeply. "Geez," he said. "Sometimes I wonder how I deal with you."

Train glanced at him.

"And then," Sven continued, "I realize that I _don't_." And he slammed his head down on the wheel.

His partner just grinned at him. "It must be your bad luck," he shrugged.

"_My_ bad luck? How about _your_ bad luck?"

"Nah, I only have good luck."

"Aren't black cats supposed to be bad luck or something?"

"Not me! I'm unique!"

"… Can't argue with that," Sven grinned, despite himself.

Train was very unique, wasn't he?

* * *

Hm. The ending seemed a bit abrupt. I wasn't quite sure what to do, since adding more would just lengthen the ending and cutting it short didn't seem good, either. I tried to bring it back to the good luck/bad luck thing at the beginning of the chapter. Hm... maybe I should have ended this at the "rain" part. I hope you got that. If you didn't get the rain part, look back to what Ki said about the town at the end.

And, I'm pretty sure Sven is a safe driver, but let's just say he had a slip of memory. Not very smart. Not very believable. Completely necessary for the plot flow. XD Maybe not. But I couldn't think of anything else. How else do you end up in a town in Nowhere?

I feel bad for Sven's wallet. Though, at the same time, not. Comic relief at the expense of Sven Vollfied. Hahaha....

I'm not sure if Train was in-character or not. Let me know, okay?

Review! I order you to! XD Maybe I'll get another chapter out quickly, but I'm not sure. I don't have any ideas for the next chapter... any ideas for a side adventure?

Oh yeah. Just a question which only takes literally 1 minute to answer: Do you want me to go on side adventures (aka filler chapters) until I think 3 years or so (is this right? Someone, please answer!) until they meet Eve, or do you want a XX time skip to near or at the point where they meet Eve, and the whole canon starts? I'm still thinking about it... but some suggestions might help. :D


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